Meeting Recap (February 10, 2018)

Thank you to everyone who came out to Saturday's meeting! It was great to see everyone and have some fun!

• Gayle, our Treasurer, gave us the updated financial info.
• Krista, our Secretary, announced our membership numbers and passed out our new MQG membership cards and pins.
• Marie, our VP, announced several pieces of quilting news and happenings (more about these will be sent via email). She also collected blocks and gave a brief update regarding the Block Lotto we'll be doing this year. The first block, which is due at the March meeting, is a simple plus block. You can find all of the details here. Based on what we collected at the February meeting, we're going to have several winners at the March drawing.
• Jessica, our President, covered a whole host of items:
• The hand-sew happy hours and location for the entire year have been posted to the blog. This month's meet-up will be on Tuesday, February 20.
• It's not too late to register online for QuiltCon, which will take place February 22-25. Check your emails from the MQG.
• The MQG is setting up several task forces: Inclusion and Diversity, Individual Members Community Building, Guild Programming and Leadership, and Member Appreciation. Check your emails from the MQG to sign up if you're interested.
• Information about registration and payment for Shannon Brinkley's visit in April was provided. If you registered, be sure to pay for your class by February 28th!
• SewMeSTL is going to be three days of fun this year (October 5-7)! Info on hotel rates and how to reserve will be sent via email.
• Sign-ups for the Latifah Saafir workshops will take place after our March meeting.
• Jessica announced the next Rainbow Block of the Month (BOM) Challenge color -- yellow-orange. It's not yellow, and it's not orange. Think mac and cheese or cheddar. You can find all of the details (and picture examples) here.
• Cindi and the Charity Committee announced this year's charity project, which will be making small quilts for Nurses for Newborns. You can find all of the details here.
• Emily and the Member Swap and Challenge Committee announced our first swap of the year. We'll be making sets of 4 coasters, due at our March meeting. You can find all of the details here.
• For our activity, Tess and the Programming Committee led us in making blocks for the 70273 Project. Each block consists of a white background with two red "X"s on top, representing one of the 70,273 physically and mentally disabled people who were killed by the Nazis in World War II.

If you missed out or want to make more, you can bring blocks to the March meeting (details will be in this week’s email), and there will be opportunities to help in assembling the quilts later. Thank you to everyone who participated!

• We wrapped up the meeting with a great Show and Tell. Keep an eye on our Instagram page to see more pics of the meeting and our members' projects throughout the month.

We've got lots more fun planned for next month, so make sure to mark your calendars for March 10th!

Coasters! The First Swap of 2018

At our February meeting, Emily and the Member Swap and Challenge Committee announced our first swap of the year -- coasters! Because everyone loves a cute coaster.

 

Details to participate:

• Make a set of 4 coasters using modern fabric.
• You can use whatever design and shape you like for the coasters. If you want some inspiration, here are a few tutorials to get you started:
• 25 free tutorials
• Big-stitch coasters from Carolyn Friedlander
• Modular felt coasters from Purl Soho
• Liberty coasters from Purl Soho
• The coasters are due at the March meeting. It's a fast turnaround, but coasters are a quick project.
• The coasters will be exchanged using a rob-your-neighbor style swap. You do not need to put your coasters into any sort of bag. They should be visible for the swap.

 

  

Thanks!

 

Your 2018 Member Swap and Challenge Committee: Emily DuBois (Chair), Marianne Belcke, Jamie Willis, Mary Nygard, Heather Dye, and Jane Unger Baumstark

Charity Project 2018

Every year, the STLMQG sponsors a sewing project for charity. This year, we will be donating quilts to Nurses for Newborns.

The project was announced at our February 10th meeting.

--Due dates: the Charity Committee will be accepting quilts at the May 12th and November 10th meetings.

--We will have a speaker from Nurses for Newborns at our May meeting to tell us a little more about the charity and how the quilts are used.

Specifications:

• Quilts should measure 2 ft. x 3 ft. (24" x 36"). Remember, these are for newborns.
• Larger quilts for siblings will also be accepted, but please focus your efforts on the smaller quilts.
• Quilts should have a modern aesthetic and be made with quilt-shop quality fabrics. Let's give them our best!
  
• "STLMQG Cares" labels will be available at each meeting for those who would like to add one to their quilt(s).
• Nurses for Newborns has requested that the quilts be washed before donation if possible.

Thank you!

Your 2018 Charity Committee: Cindi Templin (Chair), Barb Phelps, Noreen Schneider, Laura Patterson, Whitney Kelly, Ann Philiph, and Gina Shelley

Meeting #81 (February 10, 2018)

Hello modern quilters!

We've got lots to announce and a really fun (and meaningful) activity planned for February's meeting, so we hope you can join us!

Date: February 10, 2018
Time: 10 am - 12:30 pm 
Location: The Heights
8001 Dale Ave, St. Louis, MO 63117
*Childcare available, please see info here* 

   =================================================================

Agenda:

- Welcome & Guild Business
     :: Membership Information
     :: Financial Information
     :: Quilting News / Around Town
- Announce 2018 Charity Project
- Activity: Blocks for the 70273 Project

---Break---

- Announce 1st Swap of 2018
- Announce next Rainbow BOM color
- Show & Tell
- Mix & Mingle

-------------------------- Reminders ------------------------------

:: Don't forget we're still accepting dues for 2018. Dues ($40) can be paid by cash, check, or credit card. You can pay at the meeting or online through our Paypal link.
:: Payment is also due for those who signed up for Shannon Brinkley's workshops. You can pay using the same methods as dues.
:: The first Block Lotto blocks are due at the March meeting, so there's still plenty of time to sew some up!
:: Remember that you must post your January (pink) Rainbow BOM blocks to Instagram with the #stlmqgrainbowbom before the start of the February meeting to get your points for the first month (you can email them to stlmqg@gmail.com if you're not on IG). We'd love to see your blocks at Show & Tell as well!

2018 Block Lotto

This year, we're trying a fun new challenge we're calling a Block Lotto. Over the course of the year, we'll "assign" four blocks that will increase in difficulty as the year progresses. Those who want to participate should make as many of the assigned block as they wish and bring them to the meeting at which they're due. Each finished block is worth one ticket. All of the tickets will be put into a drawing, and the person with the winning ticket wins all of the blocks! Depending on the number of blocks we receive, we may choose to split them among multiple people (for instance, if we have enough blocks to make two throw quilts, they'll be split between two winners). This activity is totally voluntary, and the four blocks aren't related. Feel free to join in if and when you choose!

Block #1

• Block #1 is a simple plus block.
• We are following this tutorial by Steph Jacobson for a 10" finished block.
• The background fabrics should be low-volume prints. The "plus" fabrics can be any print fabric that reads as a solid. You can use any color you want for the plus sign.
• The blocks are due at our March meeting.

  
Block #2

• Block #2 is all about flying geese. Each block will consist of two flying geese units sewn together (so the picture above shows two finished blocks).
• You can assemble your geese following whatever method you choose. You can find a tutorial for the 4-at-a-time no-waste method here and a paper-piecing template here.
• Each flying geese unit should measure 4.5" x 8.5" unfinished, so the block (consisting of two units sewn together) should measure 8.5" square unfinished.
• Please use ONLY quilt-shop quality SOLID fabrics for your blocks this month. Please, no prints. The "geese" part of the block should be a blue, green, or white solid (any shade), and the background should be a gray solid (any shade).
• The blocks are due at our May meeting, with no early collection due to the Shannon Brinkley workshops in April.

Block #3

• Block #3 is a more complicated star block.
• We have adapted this tutorial by Erica Jackman of Kitchen Table Quilting for an 18" finished block. You can find the instructions here.
• These instructions are for a simplified version of Erica’s block. Each block of this version that you turn in at the August meeting will earn you one ticket in the block lotto. You can also choose to make the slightly more difficult version by following the directions in Erica’s tutorial. If you turn in the more advanced block, you’ll receive two tickets.
• The fabric palette is dark blue, pink, gray, white and/or low-volume prints.
• The blocks are due at our August meeting.

Block #4

• Block #4 is a simple, fun, scrappy holiday tree block.
• We have adapted this tutorial by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter for a 7" x 9" finished block. You can find the instructions here.
• The fabric palette is "scrappy holiday" prints and solids.
• The blocks are due at our November meeting.
• Use hashtags #stlmqg and #stlmqgblocklotto to post pictures of your blocks on social media. We want to see what you're doing!

2018 Rainbow BOM

This year, we're hosting a low-key, low-stress block of the month we're calling our Rainbow BOM. Here are all of the details:

• There will be 10 months total.
• Each month, we'll assign a new color. They will not go in rainbow order, just to keep you on your toes.
• To participate, you must post an image of your block to Instagram or email a picture to stlmqg@gmail.com before the next meeting to earn a point for that month. On Instagram, use hashtags #stlmqg and #stlmqgrainbowbom.
• You will earn one point for finishing a block in the assigned color and submitting the image before the next meeting. You will earn five additional points if you finish at least 9 of the 10 blocks by the November meeting. Each point will be worth one ticket, and we'll draw for prizes at the November meeting.
• Feel free to "make up" missed months after they are due, but you will not receive points for those individual months. (However, all blocks will count toward your nine-block total for the five additional points in November, regardless of when they are made.)
• You do not have to create a finished item with your blocks (although we are planning to have a separate prize raffle next January for finished projects).
• Blocks can be any size and design -- it's totally up to you.
• Each month’s block can only use the assigned color plus neutrals (prints and solids are fine).

Color #1 (January):
The color for January is pink (interpreted however you like, from baby pink to fuchsia)! The color 1 block images are due before our meeting on February 10.

Color #2 (February):
The color for February is yellow-orange (it's not yellow, and it's not orange -- those will come in future months -- it's yellow-orange. Think cheddar or mac and cheese). The color 2 block images are due before our meeting on March 10.

Color #3 (March):
The color for March is green (save your citrons and teals for future months; we want true green here). The color 3 block images are due before our Shannon Brinkley workshops on April 14.

Color #4 (April):

The color for April is blue-green. This includes everything between green and blue -- think aqua, teal, turquoise, and the like. The color 4 block images are due before our May meeting on May 12.

Color #5 (May):

The color for May is orange. Red-orange will not be a color we use this year, so this month can include all shades of orange other than yellow-orange (which we've already done). The color 5 block images are due before the Latifah Saafir workshop on June 9.

Color #6 (June):

The color for June is yellow-green -- think your lime, citron, chartreuse, and pear shades. And take heart, this is our last "in between" color, so you should be smooth sailing from here on out if they confuse you. Check out this site for some helpful examples of yellow-green. The color 6 block images are due before our July 14th meeting.

Color #7 (July):

The color for July is violet. For our purposes, this includes every shade of purple, so have at it! The color 7 block images are due before our August 11th meeting.

Color #8 (August):

The color for August is red, easy peasy. The color 8 block images are due before our September 8th meeting.

Color #9 (September):

The color for September is blue, another easy month. We're taking it easy on you here at the end. Just one more color to go after this! What could it be? The color 9 block images are due before October 13 (this is the date our monthly meeting would normally fall, but we will not have an October meeting due to SewMeSTL).

Color #10 (October):

The color for October is yellow, an easy one for our final month. The color 10 block images are due by November 3 (that's a week before our November meeting), so we can get the final numbers tallied and the raffle tickets ready for distribution at the November meeting. Since we're announcing the color early, you should have plenty of time.

 

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If you're having trouble identifying colors, we highly recommend checking out this post on Shannon Brinkley's blog, which is all about color cards. The post also includes two color cards (one with a 12-color wheel and one with a 24-color wheel) that you can download for free. In addition to being helpful, they make cute artwork for your sewing room. We'll have a copy of each available for reference at future meetings.